It's too dark, the copper- haired mage thought
decidedly as she walked down the dimly lit streets of Namorn. Why she had
chosen to come here, in the bitter cold of winter, was beyond her. Maybe it was
because of Daja's glowing descriptions of a pair of twin mages...
Gods, what were their names?
Shaking her head at her absentmindedness, she almost didn't see the diminutive street performer, playing an old Namornese song on an odd instrument, that was right in her path.
"You shouldn't be playing in the middle of the street like that!" she said sharply as she veered to the left. The girl's eyes narrowed, but she continued to play and did not move.
"Your funeral," she huffed, and continued on her way.
She felt a jab of pain in her ankle. Figuring it was an insect, she bent to slap it, then continued walking.
When she felt it again, it wasn't just a jab, nor was it only in her ankle. It had spread over both of her legs, a fiery, burning pain.
She collapsed in the middle of the street. When she tried to get back up again, it felt as though something was holding her down, pinned to the ground and helpless.
Fear overrode common sense and she kicked and flailed. Passerby only glanced at her, then turned to look behind her, in the distance. She clumsily rolled over to see what had caught their attention.
The girl playing the strange instrument had her eyes locked upon her, and was still playing. From the instrument a strange purple light was issuing.
Magic? thought Tris doubtfully.
No, it couldn't be magic. Neither Niko nor anyone else had ever mentioned music magic.
There was only one way to find out. Quickly she reached her hand up and unpinned one of her lightning braids, silently hoping that she didn't seriously injure the girl as she did. She had to be taught not to play with certified mages.
The lightning twirled around her fingers, awaiting her command. Silently she sent it out towards the invisible restrictions that held her down.
The lightening bounced right back. Sighing, caught it in her hand, and unpinned a tide braid as she did so.
The steady power of the tide did the job, and she picked herself up and dusted off her skirts. Several people shouted angrily at her- they had been soaked.
A little water never hurt anybody, she thought caustically, and smiled to herself. Especially the Namornese, who took steam baths rather than actually bathing.
She strode over to the girl, who stood, defiant. Furious, she said,
"Do you know who you're dealing with?"
The girl was silent, considering her with glinting black eyes. Her skin was a smooth, caramel brown, and her hair was glossy black. She was really quite pretty, up close, Tris found herself thinking.
"Well?" she repeated, noticing with distaste that there was now a crowd gathered around her.
The girl remained voiceless, stroking the odd instrument that she cradled in her hands. It was shaped like a crescent moon, with small holes drilled on the outer curve, and a slightly larger hole on the left side of the inner curve. It fairly emanated magic, though there was not a magical rune to be seen on its surface.
She felt her anger rising. Quickly, she calmed herself by thinking about what could happen if she lost control.
"She doesn't speak," a withered Namornese widow said softly. "Her music speaks for her, and then some."
Turning to the speaker, Tris said,
"Does she have a name?"
The widow considered this for a moment, dark eyes sparkling.
"Her real name, no one knows. We call her Tailynn. She answers to it."
"Why do you call her that?" inquired Tris, now mildly curious.
The woman didn't reply.
Another voice, belonging to a young Namornese male of about 15 years of age, said,
"It was written on the blanket she was wrapped in when we found her. She's lived on the streets all her life 'cause someone dropped her off. Prolly scared of her music magic."
Tris replied loftily,
"Neither my teacher, Niklaren Goldeye, nor I have heard of a music magic," hoping that they would elaborate.
Silence blanketed the square as the old widow replied,
"You foreign mages think you know everything. If you knew half of what just people on the streets of Namorn knew, you'd be far wiser and perhaps have a right to act as though you own the world."
To the surprise of the crowd, Tris laughed. She had heard similar comments before and knew how to handle them.
"True," she said lightly.
The old woman smiled, and the lines on her face softened a bit as she said,
"You are wise beyond your years, young one,"
Niko was looking at her very oddly. He smoothed his mustache and said slowly,
"She pinned you to the ground with music?"
She sighed.
"I know it sounds extremely far-fetched, but it's true! Do you think I would lie to you about something like this?"
Grinning, he said,
"Tris, I believe you."
"Good," she said frostily. She wasn't sure what she could have done if Niko hadn't believed her, and she didn't appreciate his amused manner.
"It's just so interesting... we've found a type of magic that hasn't been discovered yet... Think of the potential, Trisana!"
"I just want to make sure that she finds a teacher, before her powers kill someone," she said nonchalantly.
"Oh, surely you know by now, Tris?" said Niko, dismayed.
"What?"
"Well, you discovered her..."
Shocked, Tris cried,
"Surely there's sort of exception when the magic hasn't even been discovered yet! I can't teach her!"
At this point Niko sat
down in a chair and leaned back in it, beaming at her. Apparently the whole
thing just struck him as humorous.
Fuming, Tris spun on her heel
and stalked out.
Well, Niko, I hope you're happy, she thought bitterly as she strode down the street, skirt whipping about her knees. The wind was cold, and it felt aggravated. Stop taking it out on me! she thought, nettled.
The girl was sitting, in almost the same exact place Tris had found her the day before. She watched her with wary black eyes.
"I'm sorry that I upset you yesterday," she offered cautiously, not taking her eyes off Tailynn's face.
The girl nodded. She started to stroke the instrument again, nervous, quick strokes.
"You don't have to be frightened of me," she said gently. Not many saw this mellower side of Tris; she kept it that way on purpose.
The girl smiled at her- brief and bright, like a ray of sunshine. Then she continued studying her instrument.
This was going to be more difficult than I thought, Tris realized despondently.
"You've got magic... with music," she added as an afterthought. "And you need a teacher, or else you could hurt someone." She winced as she remembered the painful bruises from yesterday.
Much to her surprise, the girl nodded, and held out her hand to her. Tris accepted the gesture, feeling as though she were beginning a great undertaking with this simple gesture.